While recordable DVDs are unreliable and unpredictable, often failing in as few as two years, a new 1,000 year DVD made of high tech, diamond-hard stone promises to preserve irreplaceable digital files for the ages.
The Cranberry DiamonDisc was designed by a team of scientists to store digital photos, movies, music, documents, and ledgers for 1,000 years or more.
Unlike conventional recordable DVDs and CDs, the Cranberry DiamonDisc has no adhesive layers, dye layer or reflective layer to deteriorate - thereby avoiding the "data rot" that quickly corrodes all recordable DVDs. A high-intensity laser physically etches the information into the diamond-like surface of our synthetic stone disc. No other layer is needed.
The transparent Cranberry DiamonDisc can withstand prolonged temperatures extending up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit as well as UV rays that would destroy conventional DVD disks, Cranberry claims.
Researchers at Millenniata (Cranberry got an exclusive license of the technology for the consumer market) have tested the Cranberry Disc using the ECMA379 temperature and humidity (85°C / 85% RH) testing (effects of temperature and relative humidity ) as a standard to develop the most rigorous testing possible. They have combined temperature and humidity (85°C / 85% RH) tests with exposure to the full spectrum of natural light. The Cranberry Disc is the only survivor after this rigorous testing, the company claims. "Considering the combination of the Cranberry Disc?s test results and its rock-like data layer, it is reasonable to conclude that the Cranberry Disc has a greater longevity and durability than other competitors media claim a 300-year shelf life," the company said.
The data format is the same as any other DVD, meaning that the Cranberry DiamonDisc is fully backwards-compatible and can be read by any DVD player in any computer.
Both the National Archives and the Library of Congress have alerted consumers that they shouldn't rely on home-burned DVDs to last much beyond two to five years. "Storage media such as compact discs and DVDs that were thought to last don't - they often fail within a few years," cautions the Library of Congress.
David McInnis, founder of Cranberry DiamonDisc claims that has found the answer to the maladies of the digital DVD age in the low-tech Stone Age. Indeed, a dedicated group of professors at Brigham Young University developed and tested the "stone-carved" technology that McInnis licensed and is now available exclusively to consumers as the Cranberry DiamonDisc.
"The Cranberry DiamonDisc is playable on most regular DVD drives today and will last as far into the future as we can imagine," McInnis says.
Cranberry DiamonDisc technology could be a long-overdue solution for professionals, companies, non-profits and government offices that require reliable digital archiving. In addition to offering the Cranberry DiamonDisc 1,000-Year Data Storage Solution on a diamond-hard physical disk, Cranberry DiamonDisc also makes available a replacement program should the physical disk ever be lost.
But how can you write data on a Cranberry DiamonDisc? Specialized hardware is required to etch the diamond-like surface of a Cranberry DiamonDisc. However, the cost of this hardware puts it out of the reach of most consumers. A Cranberry Disc Writer plus 150 Blank Cranberry Discs are available for $4,995, while a single 4.7GB disc costs $34.95. For these reasons, Cranberry can etch consumers' DiamonDisc for them. After purchasing a Cranberry DiamonDisc online, consumers can upload their files through the secure online Cranberry File Uploader or send them to Cranberry by mail. Cranberry will etch the files onto the DiamonDisc and mails it back to to them.
Source: CDRINFO
